Indian Wells 2013: Maria Sharapova delights in ‘special’ victory

A delighted Maria Sharapova reflected on a “special” victory after the Russian stormed past Caroline Wozniacki to win the Indian Wells title.

Sharapova, 25, secured a 6-2 6-2 win over her Danish opponent in one hour and 21 minutes to win the crown for the second time following her triumph in 2006.

“What makes it so special is when you end up as the champion, that’s why I am smiling,” said world No3 Sharapova, who did not drop a set en route to Sunday’s final and will move up to second in the rankings on Monday.

“I really appreciate these moments. This is what I do all the work for. When you have days like this it’s a really nice feeling because everything has paid off.”

Meanwhile, eighth seed Wozniacki admitted that the Russian, who collected her eighth WTA title, was just too good on the day.

“She was putting pressure on me from the start,” said 22-year-old Wozniacki. “She was serving very well. I felt like everything that she wanted to do today was going in.

“She was making very few errors, and if she did, then it was at times where it didn’t really matter. I have to say she just played too well today.”